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Fears have been raised over how the cuts will hit elderly or vulnerable people and small firms particularly in remote areas.

Mr Blackford yesterday said he had resorted to “bypassing” Prime Minister Theresa May after she refused to intervene in a “commercial matter”.

He also accused the Conservatives of “letting Scotland down by failing to lift a finger to save these vital local banks from closure”.

Mr Blackford told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland programme: “I’ve had a number of conversations and meetings with the Royal Bank of Scotland over the last few weeks.

“Really what I’ve tried to put across and what other colleagues have tried to put across is the very real threat to a number of communities, in particular where they have been talking about closing the last bank in town.

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RBS argues mobile and online services have led to fewer customers using branches

“And I’ve been encouraged by the the positive nature of the talks we’ve been having. We’re at the stage that in principle we -recognise that something has to be done in order to keep a number of bank branches open.”

But Tory MP Colin Clark, whose Gordon constituency is set to lose several RBS branches, accused Mr Blackford of “undermining” the work of the cross-party Scottish affairs select committee.

He told the same programme: “It would appear that Ian Blackford is trying to take the headlines for this, whilst that committee has taken the lead on it. It is a bit of a reflection on Ian Blackford’s -security of his leadership.”